Chasing Aces Not Easy to Forget
Thoroughbred racing is not a sport for the faint of heart. It often requires thick skin, and is never without vulnerability. We allow ourselves to fall in love with horses— both strong and fragile, simultaneously. Every now and then, we happen across one that thoroughly inspires us, and breaks our hearts, just the same. Yesterday, mine was shattered by the loss of a potential superstar in Chasing Aces.
As Del Mar’s gates opened one final time this summer, electricity buzzed throughout the air. It was so much more than closing day— it was Del Mar Futurity day; the day on which one two-year-old colt was bound to be stamped the current best of the West, setting himself apart as “The one to watch.”
A race that should have found three precocious young horses across the track in the form of Klimt, Straight Fire, and Chasing Aces at the top of the stretch, instead, found the latter pulled up, unable to finish, having severely fractured his left-front knee after taking a bad step early on. Though the aforementioned two thundered on, with Klimt the eventual victor, a somber cloud of melancholy blanketed the grandstand, as the compact, chestnut Flatter colt, stepped onto the equine ambulance, and was vanned off.
For the next couple of hours, racing fans everywhere were left to speculate— taking to Facebook and Twitter, in search of any updates on the colt’s condition, and offering up well-wishes in hopes of a speedy recovery. Unfortunately, it was not to be. Word soon spread throughout the community that Chasing Aces, the horse who so many had set out to see earlier that day, in hopes of witnessing a stellar performance, had suffered an injury too great. He was humanely euthanized, to end his suffering.
Having raced only twice prior to yesterday’s Futurity, it would seem Chasing Aces may be all but forgotten before the world was ever given the opportunity to truly know his name. But, this is not the case. He, in fact, accomplished more in his momentary career than most horses ever accomplish throughout a life well-lived.
Following a hard-fought second to Silver Assault in his Santa Anita Debut, Chasing Aces returned in his second start, this time at Del Mar, in explosive fashion, breaking quickly from the gate to never look back, leaving his nearest challenger 5 1/4 lengths in his wake. Upon crossing the finish, the Rockingham Ranch-owned and Peter Miller-trained colt shattered the track’s fifty-two year old record of :56.40 for five furlongs, completing the distance in :56.21 under jockey Tyler Baze. Chasing Aces earned a 101 Beyer Speed Figure for his tremendous effort, and was stamped a rising star on the West coast.
It is never easy, losing a Thoroughbred athlete of any age, under any circumstances. But, the loss of a horse with boundless promise tends to stick with a person. So many questions arise— the “What if’s” will undoubtedly linger throughout the foreseeable future. There will always be the question, “Would this be the outcome, had Chasing Aces been here today”?
As Del Mar’s gates closed one final time this summer, they marked not just the finish of another memorable meet, but the conclusion of a life that was but a mere chapter in the unending book of horse racing. Though the harsh reality of Chasing Aces’ loss stings, there is also beauty in knowing that, though his absence will be felt, the thunder of his hoof prints in the dirt will echo throughout the stands, and within the hearts of fans who witnessed him rewrite history that July afternoon, as he roared into the record books to stay, forever a part of Del Mar.